Books 39-51

[darthparadox]

39. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
40. I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
41-42. The Unwritten, vols. 1-2 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
43. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
44. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
45. Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions by Martin Gardner
46. Time Lord: Sir

Comments

[taliabear]

No reviews on the dragons? I've heard Patricia C. Wrede is good...

[firebluespinel]

She is. The Dragons series was one of my favorites as a young reader, and I'd love to find them again as an adult. XD

[nightsinger]

"The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" is the name of the Dragons quartet by Wrede. :) It's a fantastic book series (one of my long-time favourites), and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a very young adult/children's book series that isn't trite or overdone.

[darthparadox]

I don't know how I forgot to actually review the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I've been enjoying them greatly, and I'm hoping Cimorene will be up there with Agatha Heterodyne as kickass female role models for our children. I'm a big fan of the theme of "don't let anyone else tell you that you can't be what you want to be" running through the whole series.

[firebluespinel]

If The Magicians is what I think I remember it to be (which I admit I'm not 100% sure I do), I have to say I found it unsatisfying. Like, I kept waiting for it to be something other than a summer camp novel with magic, and it never really got there.

Kushiel's Dart and its sequels comprise one of my favorite series. They are just that well done, in pretty much every way possible. Glad you found them.

If you haven't yet, I'd recommend checking out Feed and its sequel Deadline by Mira Grant. If you like zombiepocalypse novels, they're the best I've read--and if you don't like them, they are still absolutely worth reading.

Hope you guys are well! (And thanks for the Lannister t-shirt pic!)

[darthparadox]

It's less "summer camp" than "private college", but yes. I was a little irritated with Quentin's bullshit, but then I was never a disaffected twenty-year-old. And his character arc, growing as a person throughout the book (even if that just meant changing what types of mistakes he made for most of it) was fun to read.

Feed I believe I reviewed briefly earlier in the summer - I read it as one of the Hugo nominees. I believe I actually gave it my top vote. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. (Also, Mira Grant - i.e. Seanan McGuire - is fantastically entertaining in person. We met her at Worldcon; she's highly nifty.)

[firebluespinel]

Okay, I realize now that it's not what I'm thinking of, lol, but I'm definitely glad to hear your perspective on it.

And I remember your post on Feed now. Have you had a chance to look at its sequel, Deadline, yet? It's not quite as good as Feed (first sequels rarely are), but it's still quite awesome.

Oh, and I am SO FREAKING JEALOUS that you got to meet Seanan/Mira. I'm friends with her on LJ, but I haven't had any opportunity to be in the same place as her yet. It's on my list.

[kreeblah]

I'm also getting the sense that Sanderson has certain character archetypes he really enjoys writing

This is very much the case. "Sassy noblewoman" is another that I can think of off the top of my head and I think he might have a few more. Personally, I don't mind since I like his archetypes, but they do start sticking out a bit after reading a few of his books.

[kreeblah]

Oh, and I guess I missed that the Magicians was in this list, but that was . . . an interesting book. I'm still not sure how I feel about it honestly, or even whether I liked it, but the second one's a little less odd and I can actually say I enjoyed that one.